Infant&#39;s walker



June 1967 B. K. BURNHAM ETAL 3,326,570

INFANT'S WALKER Filed Feb, 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l J1me 1967 s. K. BURNHAM ETAL 3,

I NFANT S WALKER Filed Feb. 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,326,570 INFANTS WALKER Benjamin K. Burnham, Gardner, Raymond J. Sarasin,

Fitchburg, and Harold F. Shaw, Leominster, Mass., assignors to Thayer, Inc., Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 528,921 8 Claims. (Cl. 280-36) This invention relates to a new and improved infants walker which can be used as a bouncer or as a stroller, the general features of which are well known in the art, and the principal object of the present invention resides in the provision of greatly improved means for folding the device particularly with respect to a backrest which is foldable down onto a main frame and which in the present invention is foldable much closer to the main frame than the devices of the prior art so that the novel walker when folded takes up a great deal less room than would otherwise be the case.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a device of the class described which however is provided with means which allows the backrest to be moved to an inclined position so that the infant can rest and sleep in the device as well as sit and stand therein.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation showing the device in extended condition for use, with the backrest upright in solid lines and reclined in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the device folded;

FIG. 3 is a partial view showing the parts partly folded, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a modification.

In illustrating the invention the same has been shown as including a main frame which is generally horizontal but can have upwardly curved members forming a rocker in the event that the casters 12 should be removed. At the forward end thereof these members extend upwardly and are continuous being connected by a cross member 14 forming the closed end of the U-shaped frame. At the rear end the members turn upwardly and terminate and are provided with protective caps as clearly shown. These members as well as some of the other members can be made of bent tubing, etc. and the upturned ends at the rear and at the front are provided with shackles or springs 16 which support a scissors folding device including levers indicated at 18 and 20, these being interpivoted as at 22.

At the upper ends of the scissors it supports an interpivoted U-shaped frame 24 adapted for the support of a seat 26 thereon, this seat being made of fabric in the usual manner and having a forward tray or the like if desired as also is well known in the prior art.

The rear ends of the side portions of frame member 24 are downturned at 26, and are inter-pivoted by links 28 with the end portions of the levers 20, 20. In the extended condition of the device the ends of levers 20 abut and hold the downwardly turned ends 26 of the U-shaped frame member 24, holding the same extended and latched in the condition shown in FIG. 1. This is a kind of past dead center arrangement. There is also an upstanding U-shaped member 30 which forms the backrest and this is pivoted at the ends of its arms to the levers 20, 20 at 32 adjacent but inwardly from the pivot connections of links 28 to levers 20, 20. The end portions 34 of the arms of U-shaped backrest 30 are preferably flattened and bent forwardly.

When the backrest is moved forwardly from the FIG. 1 position, the downturned portions at 26 move off from 3,326,570 Patented June 20, 1967 the free ends of levers 20, being in effect moved upwardly by links 28.

Continuation of this motion brings the backrest down onto the U-shaped frame member in folded condition thereof and it will be seen in FIG. 2 that all of the members of the walker are located within the forward and rear upwardly extending terminal portions of the lower frame member. Thus it is apparent that a more compact folding action is achieved by this construction and less space is taken up when the device is folded.

The backrest member is held in the upright position as shown in FIG. 1 by means of a slotted link generally indicated at 36, there being one of these slotted links pivoted to each arm of the backrest member as at 38 and having arranged in the slot which is indicated at 40 a rivet or stud 42 mounted adjacent the extreme end portion of the downturned portions 26 of members 24.

A link 44 is pivotally arranged as at 46 on each slotted link 36 and simply by force of gravity the lower edge 48 thereof, see FIG. 1, rests on the stud 42 and holds the backrest in fixed position as in the solid lines in FIG. 1. However the backrest 30 can be pushed forwardly in order to fold the structure to the FIG. 2 position with no action necessary as to the pivoted links 44. However, when it is desired to move the backrest 30 to the dotted line position in FIG. 1 which is the reclining position, it is merely necessary to manually retract links 44 in an anticlockwise direction to disengage the bottom edge 48 from its stud 42, whereupon the backrest is movable to its reclining position. The links 36 will relatively descend with respect to the studs 42, see FIG. 1, dotted line position. These links in this position are of no effect, but when the Ushaped backrest member is raised from the dotted line position to the solid line position in FIG. 1, the slotted links will relatively move upwardly along studs 42 and allow the pivoted links 44 to drop behind the same, i.e., on the top portions thereof, holding the backrest 30 once again extended in the solid line position of FIG. 1. Finger grip flanges 50 may be provided to manipulate holding links 44.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a slight modification wherein the links 44 are omitted. Instead, to releasably hold the parts in the FIG. 4 position, the slot 52 in link 54, comparable to slot 40 in link 36, is provided with an offset or re-entrant notch 56 receiving stud 42 and thus holding the backrest as in FIG. 4, but upon being released, allows the backrest to pivot down to the reclining position. The other parts in FIGS. 4 and 5 are like those of FIG. 1 and 2, and are so numbered.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what we claim is:

1. A childs vehicle comprising a lower frame, an upper frame having a forward end and a rear end and including a pair of spaced members each of which has a downturned rear end portion, two pairs of spaced interpivoted scissor members, the corresponding ends of said scissor members being pivotally arranged with respect to said lower frame and extending generally upwardly therefrom,

one scissor member of each pair pivotally mounting the upper frame adjacent the forward end thereof, the other scissor member of each pair extending in a direction upwardly toward said upper frame and terminating in free-ended upper end portions, a link pivotally connecting each downturned rear end portion of each of the members of the upper frame with the corresponding free-ended portions of the respective scissor member,

the free ends of said other scissor members contacting and supporting the downturned end portions of said 3 upper frame when the device is extended, said links providing for pivotal motion of said downturned end portions up over the free ends of said other scissor members to allow the latter to fold, the links tending to hold the members extended.

2. The childs vehicle of claim 1 including a pivoted backrest having a pair of arms terminating in end portions pivotally mounted with respect to said other scissor members, and interconnected means connected between the arms of said backrest member and the ends of said downturned end portions maintaining the frame extended and the backrest erect.

3. The childs vehicle of claim 2 including means for releasing the backrest with respect to the downturned end portions of said upper frame so that the scissors may remain extended while the backrest is moved in a rearward direction to reclining position.

4. The childs vehicle of claim 2 including means for releasing the backrest with respect to the downturned end portions of said upper frame so that the scissors may remain extended while the backrest is moved in a rearward direction to reclining position, said last-named means including a releasable latch.

5. The childs vehicle of claim 2 including means for releasing the backrest with respect to the downturned end portions of said upper frame so that the scissors may remain extended while the backrest is moved in a rearward direction to reclining position, said last-named means including a releasable latch, said releasable latch being mounted on the interconnecting means between the arms of the backrest and the downturned end portions of said upper frame.

6. The childs vehicle ofclaim 2 including means for releasing the backrest with respect to the downturned end portions of said upper frame so that the scissors may remain extended while the backrest is moved in a rearward direction .to reclining position, said last-named means including a releasable latch, said releasable latch being mounted on the interconnecting means between the arms of the backrest and the downturned end portions of said upper frame, said interconnecting means comprising slotted links and having a slidable connection with re: spect to said downturned end portions of said upper frame.

7. The childs vehicle of claim 2 including means for releasing the backrest with respect to the downturned end portions of said upper frame so that the scissors may remain extended while the backrest is moved in a rearward direction to reclining position, said last-named means including a releasable latch, said releasable latch being mounted on the interconnecting means between the arms of the backrest and the downturned end portions of said upper frame, said interconnecting means comprising slotted links and having a slidable connection with respect to said downturned end portions of said upper frame, the first-named links being pivotally and otherwise immovably secured with respect to said arms of said backrest portion.

8. The childs vehicle of claim 1 wherein the lower frame includes ground engaging rocker elements.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,798,730 7/1957 Smith 28036 3,145,999 8/1964 Burnham 280--36 3,235,279 2/1966 Smith et al. 28036 BENJAMIN H-ERSH, Primary Examiner.

L. D. MORRIS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CHILD''S VEHICLE COMPRISING A LOWER FRAME, AN UPPER FRAME HAVING A FORWARD END AND A REAR END AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED MEMBERS EACH OF WHICH HAS A DOWNTURNED REAR END PORTION, TWO PAIRS OF SPACED INTERPIVOTED SCISSOR MEMBERS, THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID SCISSOR MEMBERS BEING PIVOTALLY ARRANGED WITH RESPECT TO SAID LOWER FRAME AND EXTENDING GENERALLY UPWARDLY THEREFROM, ONE SCISSOR MEMBER OF EACH PAIR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE UPPER FRAME ADJACENT THE FORWARD END THEREOF, THE OTHER SCISSOR MEMBER OF EACH PAIR EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION UPWARDLY TOWARD SAID UPPER FRAME AND TERMINATING IN FREE-ENDED UPPER END PORTIONS, A LINK PIVOTALLY CONNECTING EACH DOWNTURNED REAR END PORTION OF EACH OF THE MEMBERS OF THE UPPER FRAME WITH THE CORRESPONDING FREE-ENDED PORTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE SCISSOR MEMBER, THE FREE ENDS OF SAID OTHER SCISSOR MEMBERS CONTACTING AND SUPPORTING THE DOWNTURNED END PORTIONS OF SAID UPPER FRAME WHEN THE DEVICE IS EXTENDED, SAID LINKS PROVIDING FOR PIVOTAL MOTION OF SIAD DOWNTURNED END PORTIONS UP OVER THE FREE ENDS OF SAID OTHER SCISSOR MEMBERS TO ALLOW THE LATTER TO FOLD, THE LINKS TENDING TO HOLD THE MEMBERS EXTENDED. 